Vulnerable and disadvantaged young people are often disengaged from mainstream education and lack the substantive capacity and opportunity to benefit from nature-focused activities without support. Ecotherapeutic out-of-classroom environmental education (EE) programmes hold the potential to benefit such young people, although research involving…

Beyond correlational studies exploring the benefits of nature exposure, there have been studies assessing interventions that aim to improve nature connection in children and adolescents. A feeling of connection with nature or 'nature connectedness' describes our attitude towards nature, primarily reflecting the emotional, cognitive, and…

Young learners have an innate scientific curiosity and capacity for discovery that can be effectively nurtured through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education that closely aligns with children's everyday experiences. Early childhood educators recognize the critical role of STEM education in cultivating adaptive and…

This research investigated the role of environmental education (EE) in acquiring environmental knowledge, pro-environmental beliefs and pro-environmental behaviours among a sample of pre-service teachers who undertook an EE course (n = 177) and those who did not undertake an EE course (n = 203) in a Nigerian university. Results showed that…

Over the past 30 years, 'Aldea' (global village), the Education for Environmental and Sustainability (ESE) School Programme has been implemented in over one thousand public schools in Andalusia, Southern Spain. The present study analyses the beliefs of a group of teacher coordinators who have experience of implementing the Aldea programme in their…

Humans use stories to explain natural processes, to explore alternatives, to resolve issues, and to imagine different possibilities and futures. Stories are a fundamental way people connect to their natural surroundings. But are some stories better for this than others? This study uses an experimental design to explore the impact of three types of…

Might interacting with relatively wild forms of nature help move our world away from its largely domination-oriented and destructive sensibilities? Toward broaching this question, this study used an Interaction Pattern Approach to model child-nature interaction in a Hong Kong nature program. Observational video data were collected of 54 children…

Train-the-trainer programs are an effective method for improving educators' content knowledge and pedagogical skills. They also offer a way to reach more educators than by traditional professional development models. This manuscript shares the results of a retrospective study conducted with a cohort of informal science educators who participated…

The pressing urgency of climate change calls for advancements in the way it is communicated. One communication option is the use of virtual reality (VR). The current research comprised two pilot studies to develop and test a virtual environment depicting proximal effects of climate change regarding the participant's location. In both studies, an…

Recently there has been an increase in scientists, educators, and activists moving into comedy to tell the climate story. Could using humour as an educational method encourage a greater response to the climate crisis? The present research addresses this question by exploring the impact that an environmental-based comedy show had on various…

Since the Community of Portuguese Speaking Nations (CPLP) was created in 1996, environmental education (EE) has gained recognition for enhancing multilateral cooperation on environmental protection and sustainability promotion. Conducted online in 2020 in all member states during the COVID-19 pandemic, this second Environmental Education Survey of…

Climate change, human population growth and land use change are among the most important threats to nature and ecosystem services. Local appreciation of ecosystem services and knowledge of how the foundation of these services is affected by local livelihoods are important for the sustainability of natural resources and thus may fundamentally…

UNESCO has indicated the need for more research to test the effectiveness of education for sustainable development (ESD). This study analyzes how ESD is included in the Finnish national core curriculum and examines four environmental indicators to determine if a correlation exists between ESD and a cleaner physical environment in Finland. The…

This qualitative study investigates how young students expressed, explored and expanded their ideas of how they could contribute to sustainable development. We analyse a trajectory in a Norwegian 8th grade class, focusing on the students' emerging understanding through microblogging and talk in individual, group and whole class activities. The…

A qualitative study adopting a phenomenological approach examined the feedback of 53 sixth-grade students (aged 11-12) who participated in an annual educational program on climate change and environmental activism. The program was structured around instilling hope while utilizing the 'head,' 'heart,' and 'hands' pedagogical framework. Research…